Sections & Offices

The Executive Office is headed by the Ambassador. The American Ambassador to Georgia is the personal representative of the President of the United States. The Ambassador is charged with ensuring that the U.S. Mission effectively carries out the foreign policy of the United States with respect to Georgia and is responsible for the direction, coordination and supervision of all USG personnel and programs in Georgia. The Ambassador endeavors to make United States policies better known and understood in Georgia, and ensures that policy makers in the United States have the information they need to understand the situation in Georgia.The Ambassador is assisted by the Deputy Chief of Mission, who assumes the title of Charge d’Affaires ad interim when the Ambassador is away from Georgia.

The Commercial Section-Tbilisi offers a range of services to assist U.S. firms interested in developing market opportunities or increasing their business in Georgia. These services include but are not limited to the Partner Search (identifying local agents/distributors of U.S. goods and services), and facilitating contacts/meetings between U.S. and Georgian businesspeople. We produce regular market bulletins made available to U.S. companies, provide in-country counseling to U.S. firms seeking new opportunities or facing obstacles. Our specialists focus on various industry sectors representing the best trade and investment potential for U.S. firms.

The Consular Section is staffed by American Foreign Service Officers and a staff of both Georgian and American citizens who provide services to American citizens in Georgia, as well as help with a variety of questions concerning the issuance of U.S. visas. For detailed information:Click on U.S. Visas for immigrant and non-immigrant visa information. Click on U.S. Citizens Services for information including:

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If you are an American citizen with an after-hours emergency, please contact the duty officer at: (995 32) 227-70-00. Please note that only safety and welfare emergency ACS cases will be handled after hours and no visa inquiries will be addressed.

The Defense Attaché is the primary military advisor to the Ambassador and Country Team on military issues and developments within Georgia, appointed as the Senior Defense Official in the country by the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also represents the Secretary of Defense, all Service Secretaries, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the U.S. European Command in Georgia. The Defense Attache observes and reports on Georgian military and security developments, advises the Ambassador and DCM on political-military issues, and supports Department of Defense (DoD) and armed services’ VIP visitors to Georgia.

CBEP-Georgia addresses danger to U.S. and global health security posed by the risk of outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases by promoting best practices in biological safety and security, improving Georgia’s capacity to rapidly detect and report dangerous infections, and establishing and enhancing international research partnerships. CBEP-Georgia is implemented in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and also in close collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Agency for International Development. The crowning achievement of these collaborations is the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research, a state of the art biosafety level 3 research facility constructed by DTRA and handed over to the Georgian National Center for Disease Control for operation and ownership in 2013.

WMD-PPP is a vessel modernization and port infrastructure upgrade program carried out in close cooperation with U.S. Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program along the Black Sea Coast. Through PPP, DTRA and EXBS have partnered with the Georgian Coast Guard and Border Police to improve Georgia’s ability to detect and interdict WMD related materials “on the move” along the coast by addressing gaps in maintenance, infrastructure, logistics and sustainment capabilities with these port and equipment upgrades.

ICP provides training and equipment for law enforcement, emergency response, and border security entities, and program activities compliment the goals of the EXBS program. ICP core objectives are to assist in the establishment of a professional cadre of law enforcement, emergency response, and border security personnel; enhance the ability of aforementioned entities to detect, interdict, identify, investigate, and respond to trafficking of WMD-related materials; and to establish a long-term and mutually beneficial working relationship between the U.S., Georgian and other regional agencies.

CBRN Consequence Management Program focuses on providing training to emergency response personnel and establish a national doctrine on CBRN response.

DTRA partners with a variety of Georgian Ministries and agencies to achieve these objectives. Key intergovernmental collaborators working toward public and animal health goals include the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs’ National Center for Disease Control and Public Health; and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Food Agency. Other key collaborators working with DTRA toward proliferation prevention and CBRN Consequence Management goals include the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Coast Guard and Border Police, the State Security Service of Georgia, and the Ministry of Defense.

The DTRA Eurasia office at U.S. Embassy Tbilisi is regional and is responsible for coordinating the activities of DTRA forward offices in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. More information about DTRA’s mission can be found at http://www.dtra.mil/.

Georgia Justice Sector Development Program

INL fully funds initiatives managed by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) to assist the Government of Georgia by means of a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) posted to the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi and supported by experienced attorneys and staff at DOJ headquarters. Initiated in February 1999, the OPDAT Georgia program is extremely busy and productive in its anti-corruption efforts, as well as responsible for the planning and implementation of criminal justice training and assistance programs. Jared C. Kimball, the current RLA, is an Assistant United States Attorney in Spokane, Washington, and is an experienced federal and state prosecutor. Mr. Kimball is aided by a Legal Specialist, Nata Tsnoriashvili, who is an attorney who has studied in Georgia, the UK, and the United States.

Drafting a new Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)

The Georgian legal and law enforcement sectors, particularly the Prosecutor’s Office, are casting off their retrograde and corrupt Soviet legacy and moving toward a criminal justice system based on the rule of law and democratic principles. With ongoing help from the RLA and visiting US practitioner and professors, a working group completed a lengthy and open process of drafting a new CPC. The new CPC was adopted in October 2009- a historic achievement for Georgia. This new code is a Georgian code, and a hybrid between the U.S. model and the Continental legal system. The new CPC will facilitate effective criminal investigations and prosecutions in a manner that respects civil liberties, and which and affords greater due process protections for the accused. Jury trials will also be implemented in 2010 for murder cases in Tbilisi. The new CPC introduces a full adversarial system to criminal courts and demands greater independence of the judiciary.

Training

In order to educate the Prosecutor’s Office on the changes which will come in force with the new Criminal Procedure Code, the RLA conducts ongoing practical training programs for Georgian prosecutors. . The RLA conducts monthly mock trial sessions for prosecutors. This will provide the prosecutors with the skills necessary to successfully implement the CPC. The RLA also presents frequent training seminars and workshops on criminal law and criminal procedure related topics as requested by the Ministry of Justice. This includes proecutorial ethics, prosecutorial discretion, and crime scene evidence handling and chain of custody considerations. .

Procuracy Reform

The RLA and visiting DOJ experts are helping the Procuracy implement OPDAT proposals for mandatory financial disclosure, annual ethics training, the creation an IG/OPR office, and the establishment of standards for hiring, firing, and promotion. Further, with INL funds, OPDAT has established regional prosecutor libraries. These contain the latest legislation and legal practice materials in renovated rooms equipped with a computer for both word processing and internet access, as well as a printer and fax. This, for the first time, establishes nation-wide communication and coordination on criminal legal matters and improves knowledge and skill level. RLA also supports community prosecution models where prosecutors go into the community to work with students and community leaders on areas of common focus, current crime trends, public awareness, and on developing alternative community-based sanctions for juvenile offendes in lieu of prison.

Additional Current RLA Activities/Projects

The U.S. Department of Justice RLA and its INL-funded FY09 efforts will focus on implementing Georgia’s new and reformed CPC nationwide. This includes institutionalizing a trial advocacy training program for prosecutors. INL/OPDAT will fund CPC and jury trial trainings for Georgian Judges delivered by U.S. Federal Judges. The RLA and INL will assist Georgia in developing jury related instructional materials and handouts. The RLA and INL will assist with production of public service announcements on the new components of the CPC; to-wit: Defendant’s rights; witness rights; jury trials/jury duty; discretionary prosecution and prosecution diversion programs; victim’s rights; and the independent role of the judge under the new CPC. The RLA and INL will assist in the production of a CPC Commentary/Annotated Code for legal practitioners and with the development of commentary on rules of evidence.

The RLA overseas a Criminal Court Monitoring Project to monitor current court practices and to gauge barriers to new CPC implementation. The RLA supports internal management reforms in the Prosecution Service including ethics reform and reform of media and public relations. The RLA provides support and expertise for substantive trainings for law enforcement officials on current trends in the Criminal Justice System. The RLA assists the Witness Protection Unit with creation of implementing legislation. The RLA assists Georgia in streamlining child pornography legislation and enforcement provisions. The RLA will support the further development of the prosecutor’s proposed ICCMS (Integrated Criminal Case Management System) by offering planning and development assistance, and by providing technical expertise to the Georgian Ministry of Justice.

DOJ GEORGIA OFFICE STAFF

The INL section is currently staffed by four full-time employees: LES Chief; Senior Police Advisor; and, one foreign service national. The INL-funded RLA section includes an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a Foreign Service National. Additionally, a Forensic adviser and former criminal investigator for the Internal Revenue Service provide technical advice.

To contact us by phone, please use the Embassy general number: (995 32) 227-70-00

PARTNERS IN GEORGIA

In August 2000, DOJ increased its support to Georgia by contributing funding to the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative Criminal Law Program (DOJ/CEELI).

In March 2002, DOJ/OPDAT issued a grant to American University’s Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) to commence money-laundering and corruption research projects in Tbilisi, Georgia. See http://www.traccc.cdn.ge/

The Management Section provides services to agencies represented at the US Mission in Georgia. The Management Section maintains the Chancery compound (including chancery, annex, warehouse, maintenance shops, Marine Security Guard house, and gym) and residential properties. In addition to the Management Counselor, this section is served by a Management Officer, a Human Resources Officer, a Financial Management Officer, a Foreign Service Health Practitioner, a General Services Officer, a Facilities Maintenance Specialist, Information Resource Management Officers, a Community Liaison Officer and local-hire employees.

The United States European Command Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) plans and executes security assistance and cooperation programs with the Ministry of Defense of Georgia. These programs seek to build Georgian capacity to contribute to coalition security and stabilization operations, and to transform and develop the Georgian Armed Forces institutions, systems, and practices.

The Georgia Deployment Program – ISAF, led by the United States Marine Corps, prepares Georgian infantry battalions to conduct counter-insurgency operations in support of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Regional Command South, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The International Military Education and Training Program sends military officials to the United States for professional military education.

Military-to-Military Contact Events are fora to share and exchange best practices and experience in myriad military themes, as well as security assistance in the form of mobile training teams, defense advisory support, and defense articles.

The Office of Defense Cooperation also plans and executes all humanitarian assistance projects sponsored by United States European Command, including projects to improve orphanages and homes for the socially vulnerable and medical clinics and services.

The Political-Economic (Pol/Econ) Section presents U.S. foreign and security policy positions to the Government of Georgia and interprets Georgia’s major foreign, defense and security policies for Washington. The Pol/Econ Section also analyzes and reports on significant events and trends in Georgian domestic politics (elections, political parties, regional relations, media, human rights etc.) in-so-far-as they affect Georgia’s relationship with the U.S.

The Political-Economic Section provides Washington and Embassy officials with accurate, timely, first-hand reporting and expert analysis of significant economic and financial developments in Georgia, to advance U.S. economic and commercial policies, interests and goals including Georgia’s transition to a market economy, to coordinate the effective delivery of technical assistance to the Government of Georgia, and to assist U.S. business with trade and investment issues.

Current issues include status of implementation of the Georgian Government’s reform program, social and economic conditions across Georgia, reform of the financial system, investment climate, trade, Georgia’s role in the regional economy, and energy issues.

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) supports the goals and priorities established by the U.S. Embassy. Its role is to inform Georgians about U.S. political, economic and social institutions, and U.S. policies on all issues of interest to Georgians. The Public Affairs section also carries out a number of academic, cultural and information programs, which can be found here.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) oversees all security related matters of the Department of State, to include criminal investigations, VIP protection, and security at U.S. Government facilities within the United States as well as all U.S. missions, embassies, and consular posts abroad.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is a unique organization that plays an essential role within the U.S. Department of State.

The Bureau’s personnel – who include special agents, engineers, technicians, diplomatic couriers, Civil Service specialists, and contractors, work together as a team to ensure that the State Department can carry out its foreign policy missions safely and securely.Diplomatic Security (DS) has a broad scope of global responsibilities, with protection of people, information, and property as its top priority. In the United States, the Bureau protects the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and foreign dignitaries below the head-of-state level who visit the United States. DS develops and implements security programs to protect the more than 90 domestic State Department facilities as well as the residence of the Secretary of State.

Overseas, DS develops and implements effective security programs to safeguard all personnel who work in every U.S. diplomatic mission around the world. DS investigates passport and visa fraud, conducts personnel security investigations, and issues security clearances. The Bureau also assists foreign embassies and consulates in the United States with the security for their missions and personnel. In addition, DS administers the Rewards for Justice Program. It is one of the U.S. government’s most valuable assets in the war against terrorism.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is the parent organization of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Department of State and is the primary mechanism by which DS accomplishes its law enforcement (criminal investigative) and security missions worldwide. Both terms, DSS or DS, are used interchangeably within the State Department and other agencies to refer to the DSS. The DSS is structured as a federal law enforcement agency, primarily made up of U.S. Federal Agents mandated to serve domestically and overseas. The majority of its Special Agents are members of the Foreign Service and federal law enforcement agents at the same time, making them unique.The DSS is the most widely represented U.S. law enforcement agency worldwide with representation in nearly every country in the world.

Overseas, DSS Special Agents are called Regional Security Officers (RSOs), and are charged with the security and law enforcement duties at U.S. missions, embassies, and consular posts. The Regional Security Office is responsible for managing and coordinating all Department of State security programs and initiatives at USG facilities abroad, and the Regional Security Officer serves as the senior security/law enforcement advisor to the U.S. Ambassador at each mission.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a U.S. federal agency under the Department of Defense and a major Army command made up of some 36,500 civilian and military personnel, making it one of the world’s largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. USACE was established in 1802 as a separate Division of the Army. The Corps of Engineers headquarters is located in Washington D.C. USACE is involved in a wide range of engineering activities throughout the world. Our mission is to Deliver vital public and military engineering services; partnering in peace and war to strengthen our Nation’s security, energize the economy and reduce risks from disasters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is organized geographically into eight permanent divisions. Within each division, there are several districts.

USACE Caucasus Project office belongs to Europe district established in 2002; as Design/Construction Agent it supports the U.S. Embassy Assistance programs to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan; USACE helps our customers to solve their toughest engineering challenging through planning, design, construction, environmental services, and project management to meet infrastructure requirements for our customers. These include U.S. Export Control and Border Protection Service(EXBS) program; the International Narcotics & Law Enforcement (INL) program; U.S. EUCOM Humanitarian Assistance program through the Office of Defense Corporation (ODC); and USAID. Through deeds, not words, we are BUILDING STRONG. ESSAYONS!

Since 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Caucasus Agricultural Development Initiative (CADI) has provided $7.7 million of technical assistance to Georgia under Freedom Support Act (FSA) funds.

USDA expects to receive $1.5 million for FY 09. The program goals are to increase Georgian integration into global agricultural markets by building the capacity of sustainable public institutions in agriculture and to assist Georgia in its economic growth by helping reform government services offered to the agricultural sector.

The U.S. Treasury provides technical assistance to the Georgia Revenue Service. In 2012-2014 the U.S. Treasury Office of Technical Assistance Revenue Advisory Program’s mission in Georgia was to assist the Revenue Service in their quest to create a modern and effective tax administration. The emphasis was on teaching the auditors how to audit tax returns. This endeavor included classroom instruction,
on the job training and one-on-one assistance.

In addition to the assistance by the resident advisor/project manager, a number of short term advisors assisted the Revenue Service in other functions, such as Human Resources, Quality Review, Appeals, Alcohol and Tobacco Excise Taxes, Audit Selection Processes, Customs and Audit Management. In 2014-2015 the emphasis is switched to a focus on
customs processes to safeguard Georgia’s borders and to create an efficient and effective customs administration.

USAID

A federal agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is responsible for U.S. foreign economic assistance to developing countries around the world. It assists countries in undertaking democratic and economic reforms, recovering from disaster, and trying to rise above poverty. It is based in Washington D.C., has field offices all over the world, and is funded by U.S. taxpayers. USAID works closely with the Department of State to align programs and receives policy guidance from and reports to the Secretary of State.

USAID has provided over $1 billion in humanitarian and development aid to Georgia since assistance began in 1992. The objectives in Georgia are focused on building democracy, promoting regional stability, and fostering economic growth and health services. In the next four years, USAID programs aim to foster new attitudes and values that encourage citizens to be responsible and accountable for their country. The four long-term objectives in the country center on economic growth, energy sector reform, democracy and governance, and social and health services development.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is an agency of the US federal government that falls under the US Department of Health and Human Services.

In Georgia, the CDC works with the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health to accelerate progress towards a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats and to promote global health security as an international security priority to:

• Prevent and reduce the likelihood of outbreaks – natural, accidental, or intentional;

• Detect threats early to save lives; and

• Respond rapidly and effectively using multi-sectorial, international coordination and communication.

This collaboration helps advance the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) which aims to accelerate the worldwide implementation of the International Health Regulations. It creates expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability and preparedness for new health threats.

On February 13, 2014, the United States joined 28 other countries, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health, to accelerate progress toward a world safe and secure from the threat of infectious disease, and committing to the goals of the GHSA. A weakness in public health and surveillance system for infectious diseases detection in any one country is a threat to all countries. The risk to U.S. national and global interests underscores the need for a coordinated and connected system to detect and respond to emerging, and re-emerging, infectious diseases.

The CDC office in Tbilisi is also a regional office that serves other countries in the South Caucasus region. The CDC partners with the Ministries of Health and Agriculture in Armenia and Azerbaijan to strengthen public health systems and institutions so that they can respond effectively and mitigate public health threats throughout the entire South Caucasus region.

President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to foster understanding and promote friendship among Americans and people of other countries. The Peace Corps is always adapting to the times and to an ever-changing world but has never wavered from its three original goals:

To help the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women.

To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans

Peace Corps Volunteers work at the grassroots level with schools, communities, small businesses, and community members to develop sustainable solutions to locally identified priorities in agriculture community economic development, education, environment, health, and youth development. When they return home, Volunteers bring their knowledge and experiences – and a global outlook – back to the United States that enriches the lives of those around them.

Georgia welcomed the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers in 2001 in an English teaching project. Each year a group of American Volunteers arrives in Georgia to live with Georgian host families and serve alongside Georgian partners. Peace Corps Georgia works in three major project areas and four major focus areas in ten regions across Georgia: Adjara, Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha, Samegrelo, Samtskhe-Javakheti, and Shida Kartli.

Since 2001, over 725 Volunteers have served in Georgia, exchanging skills with their counterparts and community members, sharing American culture, and taking a part of Georgian culture back to the United States. Currently, approximately 120 Volunteers are serving across the country.

The State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) provides life-sustaining assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and stateless persons, as well as vulnerable migrants around the world through its global partnerships. The Bureau advocates for protection of vulnerable populations through humanitarian diplomacy, promotes best practices in humanitarian response, and works to ensure that humanitarian principles are thoroughly integrated into U.S. foreign and national security policy.

PRM Mission Statement

To provide protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees, stateless persons, and victims of conflict, and to advance U.S. population and migration policies. To act through the multilateral system so as to achieve operational productivity on behalf of victims and burden sharing productivity on behalf of American taxpayers.

PRM’s humanitarian assistance and protection activities throughout the world include:

Achieving lasting solutions to displacement: Finding durable solutions to displacement, including the voluntary and safe return of refugees and conflict victims to their homes, local integration into host communities, and, for a smaller number, third country resettlement when neither return nor local integration is possible.

Advancing population diplomacy: PRM also coordinates U.S. Government international population policy, working closely with USAID.

Promoting U.S. Values in Migration Policy: PRM leads State Department efforts on migration policy, including where migration intersects with human rights, labor, economic development, climate change, remittances, and law enforcement.

PRM’s Populations of Concern

PRM assistance in the Caucasus and Central Asia focuses on over 1.4 million individuals displaced across borders or boundaries, displaced within their country of citizenship, or stateless within their country of residence.

Our priorities throughout the region focus on preventing statelessness, shifting to development-oriented solutions including local integration into host communities, engaging host governments in the process of finding durable solutions for populations of concern, preventing gender based violence and preparing for a variety of contingencies in the event of future conflicts.

PRM’s Principal Partners

To fulfill its core mission, PRM is congressionally mandated to fund the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The majority of PRM funding is programmed through these international organizations in support of humanitarian and relief activities. To fill gaps in programming, the Bureau also supports NGOs having expertise and experience in providing particular services. The Bureau funds projects that align with its mission to provide protection and life-sustaining relief (such as food, water, sanitation, education and medical care) to refugees and victims of conflict.

Funding Mechanism for NGOs

RFP

Every year, usually in April or May, PRM makes funding opportunity announcements for local and international NGO programs through the Request of Proposal (RFP) mechanism. RFPs are posted on the grants.govweb page with instructions and guidelines on how to register and submit proposals.

Julia Taft Grants

Annually PRM receives proposals from U.S. Embassies for the Julia Taft Refugee Fund to meet low-cost gaps in refugee protection and assistance. PRM first announced this initiative in October 2000, under the leadership of former PRM Assistant Secretary Julia Taft, with the intent to provide Ambassadors with the means to respond to critical gaps, which may not have been addressed by larger programs. The application period usually runs from February to May. The application procedure for the TAFT grant is much simpler and more straightforward than the RFP. Contact Assistant Regional Refugee Coordinator Eka Todria for more information.

PRM Office at the Embassy

The Refugee Affairs Regional Office in Tbilisi oversees the implementation of approximately $20 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance programs through contributions to the operation of its institutional partners and directly to NGOs. PRM is represented by a Regional Refugee Coordinator and Refugee Affairs Assistant based in Tbilisi. The Office covers a vast geographical region including: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and Ukraine.

In Georgia, PRM has provided about $ 35 million since the 2008 conflict with Russia to provide emergency relief, shelter and socio-economic support for IDPs. PRM provided much of this (approximately $29 million) to UNHCR in response to emergency funding appeals, and more recently under cooperative agreements that are separate from the USG’s annual contributions to UNHCR.

UNHCR addresses the protection and assistance needs of over 275,000 people in Georgia, most of who were displaced during conflicts in the 1990s. Current PRM funding for UNHCR includes projects supporting the protection and integration of IDPs and returned displaced populations. These projects provide housing for IDPs, foster economic integration through vocational training and small grants, build the capacity of Georgia’s Ministry for IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Refugees and Accommodation, help prevent gender-based and domestic violence in IDP communities and support community mobilization initiatives.

In Abkhazia, PRM funds support UNHCR’s work in the Gali region to build shelter for returned displaced persons; to create social and community centers that provide training and help small businesses; and to strengthen the capacity of local NGOs. PRM also participates in the humanitarian working group (WG2) of the quarterly Geneva Discussions on Security in the South Caucasus.

PRM programming for Georgia in 2012/2013 included two projects. The NGO Premiere Urgence received a small grant ($125,000) to implement a project to build confidence and increase contact among farming communities across the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with Abkhazia. And, the Alliance for Conflict Transformation continued its cross-ABL efforts to engage Georgian and South Ossetian technical experts in collaborative water resource planning in order to restore irrigation water to populations along the ABL with South Ossetia.

PRM will continue to support UNHCR and NGO partners in their ongoing efforts in confidence-building and cross-boundary activities. UNHCR is in the process of phasing out many of its primary assistance programs in favor of joint programs with UNDP that support a transition from humanitarian assistance to sustainable development. As the Georgian government takes increasing responsibility for the welfare of IDPs, UNHCR will hand over assistance activities in Georgian-controlled territory to UNDP and other development assistance actors. Throughout this transition, PRM hopes to provide limited funding for UNHCR protection activities in Georgian-administered areas, and to continue support for broader humanitarian programming in Abkhazia.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) assists the Government of Georgia (GOG) to strengthen the rule of law through practical skills training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. INL efforts also focus on improving local capacity to fight transnational crime, including human trafficking and narcotics trafficking, and advancing implementation of criminal procedure reforms to create a justice system that meets international standards, enhances regional stability and security, and helps support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

For more than a decade, INL has implemented various law enforcement, criminal justice, and rule of law projects and held trainings locally and overseas. INL funds a number of implementers, including the Resident Legal Adviser Office of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (DOJ/ODPAT), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Rule of Law Initiative of the American Bar Association (ABA-ROLI), and the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Budapest, Hungary.

International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Staff

The INL section is currently staffed by eight full-time employees: The INL Program Director; Senior Police Advisor; Police Advisor; Probation Advisor; and four Foreign Service Nationals. The INL-funded Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) section includes an Assistant U.S. Attorney and two Foreign Service National staff attorneys.

To contact us by phone, please use the Embassy general number: (995 32) 227-70-00.